


I Just Wanna Be Hugging You Tonight

by Kufikiria



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Hugs Prompts Collection, Pre-Relationship, Romance, all sorts of things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2019-10-30 16:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17832059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kufikiria/pseuds/Kufikiria
Summary: A collection of Peraltiago fanfics inspired by ahugs prompts liston Tumblr.





	1. A Sleepy Hug

**Author's Note:**

> I just love hugs so much and am so sad Jake and Amy almost never hug in the show so I made this list of prompts to make up for it. Here will be gathered all the ones people requested me to do on Tumblr!
> 
> Title is from ‘Hugging You,’ a song I discovered thanks to @arnie-santiago or @nevermindthewind here and that really is the cutest song indeed (she used lyrics from that song in 2 of her stories I think and you definitely should go check out her works!).

Bros nights between Jake and Charles take on a whole new turn when the Santiago-Peralta family gets bigger. Indeed, as soon as little Ana is old enough to watch animated movies, they start bringing her and Nikolaj along to spend the night with their kids and initiate her to the Disney genre. It’s a new tradition they both cherish deeply – the four of them curled up on the couch with snacks and drinks and a good movie that more often than none make their children giggle uncontrollably.

Sometimes Amy and Genevieve join in as well, and it becomes a real  _ _family__ night like they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Of course they still find moments when it’s just the two of them enjoying an evening between friends but tonight’s not the case. With his wife being expected to come home late from work, Jake thought it would be the perfect occasion to invite Charles and Nikolaj to come over for an evening at his apartment. (Also because he knows how hard it can be to put their daughter to bed when Amy’s not around – he hopes some company and a movie will help make things less difficult.)

They’re almost done with  _L_ _ _ady and the Tramp__ – it was the Boyles’ turn to pick a movie and of course they chose the one about dogs and an iconic dinner date scene – and his idea seems to be working indeed: the little girl’s head is weighing heavier against his side as it’s obviously becoming harder and harder for her to keep her eyes open and focus on what’s happening on the screen.

She’s got her favorite teddy bear clutched against her chest and her left thumb in her mouth and for a moment, Jake’s attention is drawn onto her only, the movie completely forgotten. He watches her with a dreamy smile then tenderly brings a hand to her dark curly hair (a trait she definitely inherited from him) and gently strokes it.

“Wanna go to bed, Ananas?” he whispers. The way she shakes her head in return makes her little curls bounce on the top of her head in the most adorable ways. She doesn’t say a word, still sucking on her thumb with her eyes stuck on the television. Jake keeps staring at her carefully for a few more moments, debating on whether he should insist or not before deciding against it.

The movie is almost over; it won’t hurt to let her finish it. Deep down he knows it’s probably not the reason why she’s fighting so hard to stay awake, though.

What she most likely wants is to be able to see her mother first – which might be complicated given how much work she told Jake she had to do tonight before she left the apartment in the morning.

That’s why he’s really surprised – and immensely happy – when the sound of a door opening resonates behind their backs less than half an hour later and he finds himself face-to-face with Amy standing in the doorway when he turns around to see who just came in. “Hi, babe!” He shoots her a huge grin that soon reciprocates on her own face.

He looks at her quickly kicking off her boots and hanging out her coat before joining everyone in the living room. She presses a soft peck on his lips to say hello and waves at Charles and Nikolaj.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to come home before much later?” Jake whispers, frowning now in confusion.

“I know,” Amy answers while her eyes drift towards the small form pressed against her husband’s side. Jake follows her gaze; it seems like Ana has finally given in and started to doze off.

A smile, similar to the one that formed on his lips as his eyes set on the little girl, is already spreading across his wife’s face too when he looks back at her.

“One of my Detectives offered to help so that I could leave earlier. She’s been asleep long?” She doesn’t dwell on the topic, nodding into their daughter’s direction.

“Not really. She’s been fighting sleep for a while. I tried to put her to bed but she didn’t want to. I think she was trying to wait for you.”

He sees as Amy’s face softens even more with his words.

She lowers down to Ana’s level and carefully brings a hand to her face to replace a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. The girl squeals unconsciously against her touch then slowly opens her eyes.

“Mommy!” Her tiny, sleepy voice rises through the air when she recognizes who’s there.

“Hi, baby,” Amy greets her daughter with a broad smile. The child extends her hands in her mother’s direction, and she leans over to let her secure her arms around her neck and brings her into a hug. Amy secures her own hands around her back and stands up, holding her baby close to her chest.

Jake – along with Charles next to him, who’s put his whole attention onto the small family – watches the scene from his seat. His heart instantly warms up in his chest at the sight of this sweet mother-daughter moment he gets to witness between his two dream girls. Ana’s grip is firm on the collar of her mother’s blouse and her eyes are already closing again with her head laying in the crook of her neck.

Amy presses a soft kiss on the top of her head then exchanges a knowing look with her husband. “Let’s put you to bed, okay?”

Ana slightly nods against her should in response as she settles herself even more comfortably into her mother’s embrace. Now that she’s inside Amy’s arms, it’s clear she has no will to fight against her tiredness anymore and is already drifting off again.

Jake takes it as his cue to stand up as well and follow his wife while she takes their daughter to her room so that they can tuck her in. Before they can leave though, Charles let out a dreamy sigh that makes them look back. “Look at this beautiful family…” he trails off with a beam on his face and his eyes shining with upcoming tears of joy. He unconsciously brings his own son closer to his side.

Jake shakes his head at his best friend’s reaction – it’s been more than three years now but it seems like Charles hasn’t calmed down about the thought of Jake and Amy with a child one bit.

They don’t bother answering him; simply go on with their course and take Ana to her bed. Amy carefully lies her down and tucks her in with a kiss and a hug while Jake waits for his turn a little behind. He then approaches her.

“Goodnight, Ananas,” he whispers softly. Despite the exhaustion still very visible on her face, the little girl, just like she previously did with her mother, extends her hands in his direction to bring her father into a hug. She hides her head into his neck for a minute as he keeps her close before he draws away and kisses her cheek.

Satisfied now that she got to hug both her parents goodnight, Ana is quick to close her eyes and let sleep take over her without arguing. Jake and Amy don’t leave her room just yet; they watch their daughter for a little while in the dark and quietness of the place with a dreamy smile lighting up their faces. Amy lets her head fall against Jake’s shoulder when he circles her waist with his arm and she lets out a contented sigh. It seems that Ana wasn’t the only tired one.

“The movie must be finished now, I can ask Charles to leave so that we can go cuddle in bed. Nikolaj will need to sleep soon anyways,” he offers.

He shoots his wife a knowing look when she straightens up and watches him with a fond smile. She nods in return, fighting back a yawn.

“Sounds like a great plan.” She presses her lips against his in a tender kiss before she settles back against his side for a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, because I’ve had someone ask me last time I made them call her that: ‘Ananas’ is just a nickname, her name is simply Ana. I just find the idea of Jake and his daughter having the same nickname (aka. ‘pineapple’) cute haha.
> 
> Plus a friend of mine who’s also called Ana told me she actually liked being called that so… that’s where it comes from x)


	2. A Wet Comforting 'I Just Received Bad News' Hug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 4x12 Missing scene, set after Gina gets hit by a bus.

Despite the actual – and truly unexpected – good news they come home with, Amy’s still in shock when they enter what’s soon to be her and _Jake’s_ apartment.

(Not that he can really linger much into that happy thought right now.)

She goes inside the room without a word, as mute as she was during the whole ride from the hospital (and even as they were waiting back there – except for when she’d creepily break into songs from the Great American Songbook) and stops at the doorstep. She looks around for a moment. It seems as though she doesn’t quite know what to do next and is stuck in some kind of trance.

Jake’s heart, already shattered from the events of the day, breaks a little more at the sight she offers.

She’s wearing his leather jacket and if it were another day, another occasion he would definitely find it somehow fits her better than it does him. He would make a suggestive comment about it and she’d probably roll her eyes at him while still blushing at the compliment, starting at the tip of her ears. But this is not another day nor another occasion and right now all he can think about is the reason why he gave her the jacket in the first place.

He gave her the jacket because she was cold, and she was cold because she had to take out her own coat because it was covered in blood. Their _friend_ ’s blood. Who had been declared dead for two full minutes before miraculously coming back to life.

They almost lost Gina today.

“She woke up. She’s stable now. It looks like she’ll make it.” Jake tries to remember the – reassuring – words from her doctor after all these awful hours of not knowing anything about her condition.

It took so long for them to get any update he actually got the time to helplessly witness Amy braid and de-braid her hair three times. Last time he saw her jump that quickly from one level to another in her Santiago Panic Scale was right before he got sent to Florida, and he truly wished he would never have to see that side of her ever again.

(It’s better if he doesn’t try and think about the moment he finally entered his oldest friend’s room and saw her for the first time after the accident, though. Being alive did _not_ mean being – nor looking – well.)

Amy’s coat isn’t the only piece of her clothes covered in blood. There are a few red stains standing out on her usually impeccable navy blue blouse as well. And if he looked down, he could still see the remnants of what he already managed to help her wash out her hands back at the hospital stuck under her nails. He hasn’t asked for details, but it’s easy to put two and two together and understand that she tried to stop the bleeding while waiting for 911 to arrive at the scene of the accident.

“Let’s get you changed, okay?” He helps her out of his jacket to emphasize his words and make her move then leads her to their room.

He takes her favorite NYPD T-shirt, the one she loves to sleep in, out of her pile of fresh clothes while she still silently starts to work on the buttons of her blouse.

Her hands are shaking so much in the process though, panicking at the sight of the blood on her knuckles that he has to step in and do it for her.

“Hey, it’s alright. You’re alright. Gina’s okay now. She’ll be just fine,” he tries to whisper reassuring words.

Amy watches him undress her with her eyes fixed on his hands.

“She was _dead_.” Her voice is so low he almost doesn’t hear her – but he does, and he _does_ catch the tremors and desperation in her tone too. His heart misses a beat at the sound of it.

When he looks up at her face, he sees there are tears falling down her cheeks as she’s finally breaking down. She was too in shock earlier to even cry.

“They couldn’t feel her pulse. There was _no_ pulse.”

She’s clearly spiralling. Her breathing is sharp and her shoulders start shaking with unstoppable sobs and although it’s obviously hard to see her like that, Jake’s somehow relieved she’s finally letting all of her emotions go. It surely wasn’t good to keep it all in for all this time.

“Shhhh.” He stops what he’s doing and pulls her into a hug. She immediately wraps her arms around his shoulders and buries her head into his neck.

Jake can feel the tears wetting his own shirt but he doesn’t care. All he cares about right now is Amy and what he can do to make her feel better; how to take her mind off the traumatic event she witnessed.

“You heard what the doctor said.” He holds her tighter and turns his head to press a soft kiss into her hair. He gently strokes her back with his hand in a comforting gesture, running up and down, _up and down_. “She’s gonna make it. Plus it’s Gina – she wouldn’t let Charles be the last person whose text she reads before she dies.”

He tries to joke but the words have a bittersweet taste in his mouth. The image of his best friend in a just as traumatized state of mind (if not worse) as Amy is still very vivid and extremely painful.

 _“_ _It’s my fault… I should have never sent that text… I should have never asked to be part of the group chat again…”_ He couldn’t stop blaming himself.

Jake shakes his head to focus. Now’s not the time to dwell on that dreadful memory. Not when he’s got his girlfriend sobbing inside his arms.

The joke still seems to work though as he feels her body shake against his with a small chuckle through her tears. He counts this as a victory and smiles.

He rests his head on top of hers after another kiss there.

They remain wrapped in their embrace for a little longer until Amy eventually draws away by herself. Jake carefully studies her as she wipes some of her tears off her face then fixes her gaze on him.

She seems a lot less traumatized than before and really, it’s a relief. There’s nothing more dreadful than seeing his girlfriend, the woman he loves _so much_ , in such an awful state.

“Y’know what I couldn’t stop thinking about while we were waiting for some news at the hospital?”

Clueless, Jake shakes his head in response.

“About how you never watch when you cross the street and how it could have so easily been you I had to watch get hit by a car.”

 _Again_ , she doesn’t say but it’s very much implied in her tone. Though she technically didn’t _see_ him at the time, he _did_ get hit as well in the past – but he thankfully got a lot luckier than Gina in the process.

(Maybe if he wouldn’t he would be more careful with it now. Maybe _their friend_ would have been scared enough to never do the same mistake as he did. He knows he won’t ever do it again now, after what happened to her.)

(After what Amy just revealed.)

“I–…” His own heart stops for a full second at the confession. Guilt quickly washes over him as he learns he was partly responsible for Amy’s panic.

“I’m so sorry, babe.” He lowers his head. “I promise I’ll be more careful now. This whole thing kinda freaked me out too.” Jake brings his eyes back on her to show how sincere he is about this. She offers him a smile in return; it’s shy but it’s still something – actually it’s the first since the accident happened.

_Another victory._

She slowly grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers together.

“Good. Because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. Especially for something as stupid as that when we face danger every day with our jobs.”

“I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you too.” He extends his free hand to her face and wipes a few remaining tears with his thumb before pulling her into another hug. “Today was so scary.” He eventually lets out his own fears with a sigh now that Amy seems to have calmed down, whispering the words against her back.

He feels the grip of her arms around his body tighten after that.

“It was,” she agrees as she settles herself deeper into the embrace.

(But thankfully it’s over now. Thankfully another day is about to begin, a brighter future full of recovery for Gina and exciting changes for Jake and Amy as he’s about to move into her apartment, taking their relationship to a whole new level.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This last part between brackets is the cheesiest worst ending ever I’m so sorry lmao.......
> 
> Also this got much angstier than anything I’ve written lately but I won’t lie, it’s good to be writing some angst again bc this used to be my brand before Peraltiago came and turned me into a big cheeseball :’)


	3. Hugging When One Is Sitting on the Other's Lap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I was done with writing about the honeymoon, but then I spent a week in different resorts that kept reminding me of Jake and Amy on their honeymoon and now here we are haha.

Usually, in their relationship, Jake is the one who makes the big heartfelt speeches.

Sometimes though, Amy will surprise him by voicing out loud how she feels, melting his heart with the unexpected words of love.

It’s their last night in Mexico and rather than going back to their room after sharing a nice romantic dinner at one of the resort’s restaurants, Jake and Amy chose to make the most of the little time they have left to go to the beach. They’re not ready to leave and fly to New York City in the morning – this place is a true paradise on Earth.

They’re so glad they were able to trade a few days in the Berkshires for this as their honeymoon, and even happier Holt offered to pay for one more week of their vacation after ruining the first. They truly enjoyed their extra stay, between couples activities only the two of them this time, uninterrupted sexy timez (with and without roleplay), quiet moments at the beach or the pool and, just like tonight, romantic dinners followed with walks under the stars.

The beach is much calmer now than it is during the day as they are the only two vacationers there. They have all the chaises for themselves but still, Amy is sitting on Jake’s lap with her arms wrapped around his neck. His are resting on her lower back, keeping her close in a loving embrace while drawing circles on her skin over her fine flowery dress with his thumbs.

They’re silent at first, sinking into the moment and listening to the sound of the wind and the waves crashing against the shore. It’s very soothing.

But then Amy takes something out of her small purse, moving as little as she can so that she doesn’t break the hug and Jake frowns. “What’s that?”

“My wedding vows.” She carefully flattens what seems like several pieces of paper all covered in dark ink in her hands. “Or at least the ones I had prepared for the ceremony we were supposed to have.”

Jake looks at them and his heart instantly warms up.

“How long is that?!” he asks, curious.

It seems like a lot of words written down in her favorite font – a lot of words written down about _him_ and their love story. He’s impressed but he should have seen it coming. Knowing her, just like the rest of their wedding preparations, she probably spent weeks working on the perfect vows. She most likely treated the task like an essay for university – starting with a simple outline, several drafts, and then this last version she didn’t even get the chance to share with him.

_If you told me yesterday everything that was gonna go wrong, I would have had a panic attack that sent me into the ER._

Their wedding was truly beautiful in the end, and he meant it when he said he would marry her any time, any place, but still Jake can’t help but feel a little bad all of their efforts were in vain, especially now that Amy is showing him her real wedding vows.

(He absolutely adored what she came up with on the spot, though – especially the butt joke she shamelessly stole from him after preventing him from saying it.)

“10 pages…” His wife’s words bring him back to the reality of the moment.

She’s blushing, he can see it even in the dark of the night, and her eyes are shining as she’s staring intently at him.

He chuckles amusedly though inside he’s melting. _10 pages just for him._

“Santiago-stylez?”

“Of course.” She shoots him a knowing smile. “I was gonna read them to you on our first night here but then we got stuck with Holt and… you wanna hear them now?”

“Absolutely.” Jake grins as he nods excitedly – he’s really curious to know what she has to tell him. What she first intended to tell him on their wedding day.

“Okay.” Amy takes a deep breath. She draws a little away from him to better look him in the eye. She pauses for a second, staring at him with so much love his heart is already pounding in his chest before she even says a word, then starts. “I was 10 when I put together my first life calendar and wrote down the word ‘wedding’ on it for the first time…”

Usually, in their relationship, Jake is the one who makes the big heartfelt speeches.

Sometimes though, Amy will surprise him by voicing out loud how she feels, melting his heart with the unexpected words of love – like she decided to do tonight.

For several minutes, she talks and Jake listens in religious silence. She talks about what she expected her wedding to be when she was young, how she felt about him when they met, her rule of not dating cops, the things they had to go through to come to the day they would finally say ‘I do.’ It’s beautiful but it’s also funny, full of private jokes and compelling anecdotes and is so _them_ – her words sound like poetry to Jake’s ears, better than any of his favorite Taylor Swift’s songs or Die Hard most iconic lines.

In the end, he’s almost glad she didn’t get the chance to recite these vows in front of everyone because tears are literally flowing down his cheeks and he couldn’t stop them if he wanted to. For sure he would have been a mess back then.

Plus there’s something really intimate about hearing them now, as they’re all alone and curled up on a chaise in the middle of a warm night, miles away from home on the beach of this gorgeous hotel where they’ve been celebrating the beginning of their married life for the past two weeks.

It’s simply magical.

“As long as you’re with the right people, you can handle anything. And you, Jake Peralta, are the right person for me,” she eventually finishes her monologue with the same words she already told him during the ceremony, which were very fitting at the time.

(Which are, in fact, very fitting with their story as a whole.)

Amy’s not looking at her notes anymore as she says these last words. She’s staring deep at him with a loving smile on her face and tears prickling inside her eyes too. Jake is speechless for a few seconds after she stops talking. He needs some time to let everything sink in and for his heart to calm its wild beating a little.

Because if usually, in their relationship, he is the one who makes the big heartfelt speeches, Amy damn well knows how to express herself as well when it’s her turn to make one.

His own _Addams Family_ -themed rap, despite some _great_ lines he found and all the time and efforts he put into it, would have paled in comparison to this.

“This was… so beautiful,” he eventually manages to whisper after a while. “And it must have taken you so long to write down. I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance to recite them during the ceremony. I’m sorry we didn’t get the wedding we spent so much time planning.”

“It’s okay.” Amy smiles at him, something bright and reassuring. She brings a hand to his shoulder and squeezes gently. “We still got married, and that’s all that matters. Plus Charles really did a great job to make it look beautiful still. And we would have never had such an amazing honeymoon if we have had the ceremony we wanted.”

She looks around to emphasize her words and Jake follows her gaze.

“You’re right. I never want to leave here.”

“Me neither,” Amy agrees as she settles back in his arms. She lets out a satisfied sigh when she rests her head on his chest and he holds her close, watching the horizon in a recovered soothing silence. They enjoy the quietness of the moment for a while, until Jake breaks it.

“Hey, you want to hear the rap I had prepared for you too? I still don’t have a beat-boxer though so it won’t be as good.”

He feels her laugh at his words before she straightens up to face him again. “I’m sure it’s gonna be great.”

She offers him an inviting smile and he grins at her.

“Okay, then.” Jake focuses on her, then begins his own little song. “I’m Gomez, you’re Morticia, I feel so happy when I’m witcha…”


	4. A Koala Hug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake, Amy and their daughter on the night after a day at the water park.

“Aw, babe, look at this one! I think I found my favorite. We should print it when we’re back home, what do you think?”

Lying in their hotel room bed after having tucked their daughter in, Amy and Jake are looking at pictures they took earlier at the water park. She turns her phone around and watches Jake with fondness in her eyes as she shows him what’s on the screen. His smile turns immediately soft as well at the sight.

The image is of him and Ana going down a water slide together with the little girl securely sitting on his lap. Both of them are laughing and waving at the camera. It was taken during her second ride of the attraction – she pulled at his hand and looked up at him with the same puppy eyes he himself mastered doing through the years to get something from Amy.

(Smart as she is, Ana picked up on it pretty quickly as well.)

“Daddy, I wanna go with you now!” she pleaded.

And of course he went, chuckling with his heart full of love when she started dancing in victory after he agreed (something she most definitely picked from her mother), his wife being the one staying behind this time. The picture perfectly captures the light atmosphere following this moment, and what their first day at the water park has been like: nothing but quality time as a family.

Nothing but pure unmitigated happiness.

“Definitely,” Jake grins as he puts his eyes back on his wife. “We should send it to our parents too. Show them how much fun their granddaughter is having on her birthday.”

At that, Amy lets out a sigh. Her eyes switch from Jake to the picture again. “I can’t believe she turned four already,” she dreamily says and Jake nods.

“I know.”

It feels like it was just a few months ago they went there for the first time to celebrate one year of married life. And yet here they are again, more than half a decade later, with the newest addition to their little family not being a baby – not even a toddler – anymore. It’s true, what they say; your kids grow up too fast.

Jake still has a very clear image in his mind of the day Amy told him the news, of the tears of joy streaming down both their faces at the words _I’m pregnant_. After she lied to him about it during the Cinco de Mayo heist, he didn’t believe it at first, thought it was just another ruse he wouldn’t fall for this time, but the moment he realized it was all true then, the happy tears became unstoppable.

He also perfectly recalls the long hours of his wife’s labour (she went through them like a pro, although she almost broke two of his fingers in the process – the woman has _strength_ ), the sudden silence after one last push quickly followed by a piercing cry and the tiniest, most fragile human he’d ever seen being presented to the new parents.

_It’s a girl._

_Welcome to the family, pal._

She’s not that small anymore. She can run and talk and play and she’s becoming her own little person already – an awesome little person, if you ask her parents (even if they have to admit she can be quite exhausting sometimes – the perks of being a Santiago Peralta). There’s one thing that hasn’t changed since the day of her birth (and even before that), though: the enormous amount of love she brings into the family.

Amy was right when she argued with him these years ago that children bring meaning and love into your life.

(And Hitchcock was unsurprisingly wrong when he said people with kids were less likely to be happy in their lives – he never felt as happy as he’s been since Ana came along.)

It took time for him to _get there_. Took time for the image of him as a potential father to linger into his mind and feel right and heartwarming, even if he started to try to picture himself as such no later than a week after The Talk, while surrounded with all of these children running around the same water park they were at today. _I would never go with you, but you know who would? Your kid._

He tried to picture what it’d be like back then, but now it’s the reality. He is here, with his dream girl, and their perfect daughter.

Sure, he freaked out about it more than once, had several of his therapy sessions entirely dedicated to his fears of fatherhood, and he’s still afraid he’s gonna mess something up sometimes, but it’s oh so worth it in the end.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Mama! Daddy!” A little crying voice coming from the room beside theirs startles Jake out of his reverie. He recognizes his daughter’s call immediately – he’s been reassuring her after a nightmare enough times by now to know what this is all about just from the tone of her voice and the tremors he can make out in there as she calls for her parents.

He exchanges a quick glance with Amy.

“I’ve got this.”

She nods at him and he gets out of the bed, wasting no more time to head to Ana’s room. He finds her sitting on the mattress with her favorite teddy bear wrapped around her tiny arms, holding onto it as if life depended on it and her eyes filled with tears. Jake takes a seat by her side.

“What’s up, Ananas? You had a bad dream?” he softly asks.

She doesn’t say a word – simply nods her answer before throwing herself into his embrace. She buries her head against his chest. Jake gently smooths down her dark curly hair (that, she got from him) in a soothing gesture.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re awake now. I’m here,” he whispers reassuring words.

They stay like this for a little while, with Jake trying to change his daughter’s mind until Ana draws away from him and looks into his eyes. He can see then she’s not crying anymore.

“Feeling better?” He smiles at her with relief.

He hates seeing her sad, or afraid, or anything that isn’t happy and well.

“Yes…”

“Ready to go back to bed?” he asks in a hopeful tone but her eyes grow bigger and her lower lip starts shaking with new upcoming tears as soon as he lets out the words.

“Can I stay with you and Mama a little?” she innocently pleads. Jake considers her question for a beat, but quickly agrees – it’s still early and they’re on holidays, so if it can help her feel better…

Plus it’s her birthday. He can’t deny her this on her birthday.

“Okay. But then it’s back to bed, promise? You need to rest if you want to play in the water park tomorrow.”

“Promise!” She extends her hands in her father’s direction so that he can grab her. She wraps her arms around his neck and her legs around his body as soon as he lifts her up, literally glueing herself onto him. He walks to his own bedroom like this then, with his daughter holding onto him koala-stylez. His own arms are keeping her close to his chest to make sure he’s got a good grasp on her. She nuzzles her head inside the crook of his neck and Jake smiles.

It’s in moments like these he realizes how much she’s grown the most – for sure she’s not that little baby whose head could easily fit in the palm of his hand so that it wouldn’t fall back and who barely weighed anything anymore.

She’s _four years old_.

She’s a preschooler.

But she’s still his little girl who will hold onto him every chance she gets.

(He surely doesn’t mind – quite the contrary. He dreads the moment he won’t be able to carry her like this anymore, with her little arms and legs wrapped around his torso and hugging him tight.)

He sees Amy frown at first when he doesn’t come back alone, before her face quickly softens at the (adorable, he can only assume) sight they offer.

“Someone wants to spend some time with us to recover from her nightmare,” Jake answers his wife’s silent question as he carefully sits down and Ana finally lets go. She easily finds her preferred spot in-between her two parents, all safe and sound when she’s curled up against both of them.

“Wanna look at the pictures we took today?” Amy offers once everyone’s perfectly settled, her phone still in hand.

“Yes!” Ana seems thrilled by the idea.

This is how they find themselves going through her camera roll and reliving the highlights of their day together with occasional bursts of laughter. Ana’s nightmare is soon completely forgotten – so much so that she eventually falls asleep against her mother’s side, exhausted from a full day of playing in the water. Her head rests against Amy’s arm and her little hand instinctively curls around the woman’s NYPD T-shirt.

Jake watches them with a dreamy beam showing up on his face. The scene’s adorable – he needs to have it captured so that he can go back and look at it forever. Even though he already has tons of pictures like this, of his two dream girls sleeping. He’ll never get tired of such a sight. This is why he grabs his own phone and takes a few shots, all the while making sure he doesn’t wake up his daughter in the process. Once satisfied with them, after exchanging a knowing glance with Amy and the both of them kissing Ana goodnight on the top of her head, he takes her back to her bedroom and tucks her in again.

It’s only then, when it’s just him and Amy again and he’s comfortably settled under his own covers with his wife curled against his side now, that Jake takes a look at the pictures he took. He stops at the best one, a fond smile forming on his features.

His heart warms up in his chest as he shows it to Amy.

“ _This_ is my favorite picture,” he proclaims with a huge loving grin.

(They end up sending both clichés to their families – the one at the water park and the other –, as well as a selfie of the three of them with their daughter they also took during the day while eating well-deserved birthday ice creams.)

(Ana doesn’t have any more nightmares that night – on the contrary, she dreams of herself going down the water slide with her parents again, as she happily and excitedly tells Jake and Amy over breakfast.

And, as they all go down the attraction once more later that day, her dream becomes reality.)


	5. A Spooning Hug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2x12 Canon-divergence, in which Sophia is already out of the picture.

The only light coming from Jake’s room at such a late hour in the night is that of his phone, shining in the dark. It makes his face glow; his eyes are stuck on the screen of the device, staring at the name written on it. _Amy Santiago_.

His thumb is hovering over her contact info, contemplating sending her a text. He didn’t spend as much time with her tonight as he would have liked, between the two parties and the fact that she was already asleep when he came back from his conversation with Holt and the one true party could finally begin.

_6-drink Amy is so alone._

He remembers her words from when she joined them down the other room, looking all sad and desperate (and oh so drunk as well). The simple thought of that moment hurts. He wishes he would have been there for her back then, but unfortunately he had someone else he needed to try and make feel better too.

He _was_ there when Terry carried her to her bed when everyone started to go to sleep, not so long ago. No matter how gently the Sarge took her out of the couch and brought her to her room to rest, she still woke up as he laid her down on the mattress, moaning some unintelligible words and trying to hang onto him.

She didn’t seem to have sobered up much nor feel less depressed.

This is why Jake has been staring at her contact picture for a while now – looking at the annoyed face she’s shooting at the camera. The picture’s already one year old; he took it during their “date” to immortalize his victory over her.

One year has passed, and he still cherishes this picture (and the whole night they spent back then) very dearly.

One year has passed, and he still feels the same about her.

_He still likes her._

With a sigh, Jake eventually gives in and chooses to send her a text.

**You okay?**

He doesn’t get an answer right away. When a minute turns into two, he assumes Amy has fallen back to sleep and resigns himself to doing the same.

That’s when she replies.

 **The world is spinning** , the text simply writes. It makes Jake snort, although he quickly feels bad for making fun of her.

She’s gonna have one hell of a hangover tomorrow.

(She won’t be alone – with all the drinks he downed during the last games the squad played together, he’s pretty sure he’s gonna get one as well. But hangovers are part of the fun of these yearly getaway weekends anyways.)

He starts writing down an answer but receives another from Amy before he can even send his own text. What he reads makes him stop and stare for a second.

**And the room’s too quiet. I feel alone.**

Just like earlier, his heart breaks a little at the words. He gets the sudden urge to stand up and go to her to hold her tight and never let go. He wants to tell her what he didn’t have the chance to say when her sad episode first started – let her know she is _not_ alone. She’ll always have him, no matter what.

He doesn’t move, though. Doesn’t write anything back either.

Or he does. **Want me to come over?** But he’s not sure he should send it.

He does it anyways, after a while – he’d feel bad for not helping out a friend in need otherwise. He receives another text at the exact same time he sends his.

**Could you come over?**

It makes him smile.

 **On my way. I’ll bring some water :)** he quickly writes back then hurries out of the bed. His head hurts a little when he does so – Amy’s world is not the only one spinning anymore. Fortunately, this moment of dizziness doesn’t last long and he quietly heads down to the kitchen to grab two glasses of cold water.

Only then does he go to Amy’s room. The door’s not fully closed – he remembers well how she insisted they leave it this way. He doesn’t wait to knock – two small taps – and soon after a quiet voice invites him to come in.

“Hi.” Jake brings in some light as he enters; it allows him to make out Amy’s silhouette curled up on the bed with her eyes on him. A smile immediately forms on her face when their gazes meet.

He smiles back at her as he approaches her side. “Hey. I brought you some water. Should help with the whole ‘the world’s spinning’ thing,” he teases her.

“Thanks.” Amy grabs the glass and immediately starts downing it in one gulp.

Jake remains still in front of her as she does so, watching her awkwardly. He doesn’t really know what to do or say next. He studies Amy’s silhouette on the bed, how tiny she looks all curled up on one side of the huge mattress. Even though she does seem better than she was a few hours ago, she still looks like she could break any time – it makes Jake want to go to her and wrap his arms around her body to remind her she is _not_ alone.

Again though, he doesn’t know if he should do this.

Fortunately, Amy’s the one to put an end to his dilemma.

“Could you… could you lie with me for a bit?” she asks shyly, looking at him with sad puppy eyes. Of course Jake can’t do anything else but agree to her request.

Her eyes literally light up when he nods as he takes another step in her direction. She pushes herself to the side to leave him some space, throwing the covers away so that he can tuck himself in with her. He barely has the time to get all settled that she’s got her arms around his body, keeping him close with his back on her and her face nuzzled in the crook of his neck.

“I know you like to be the little spoon,” she says it so casually, it makes Jake startle a little. He doesn’t remember telling her that.

There are a lot of things he knows about her too, though, after all these years of partnership – he shouldn’t be surprised she knows such things about him then.

He tries to relax in her embrace as much as she seems to do, absentmindedly stroking her arms. He can’t help but think about how is heart keeps beating faster though, and how he wishes she can’t feel it against her palms.

If she does, she doesn’t make any comment about it.

“Feeling better?” he eventually asks.

“Mmhmm,” Amy hums in contentment, eyes already shut again.

She does seem more at ease indeed. It makes Jake wish they could remain like this, wrapped up in each other in an intimate embrace, forever.

Unfortunately, a new rush of sadness seems to hit her all of a sudden.

“You think I’m gonna end up alone?” Her voice is so low, barely above a whisper, Jake almost doesn’t hear the question.

But he does – and again, his heart misses a beat at the desperation in her tone. He instinctively holds her closer before he turns around to meet her eyes.

“Of course you’re not.” He’s quick to reassure her. “Ames, you’re the best person I know. You’re so smart and funny, and you’re beautiful too. Anyone would be lucky to date you.”

 _I would be so lucky to date you,_ he thinks but doesn’t say – this is not about him. And she doesn’t like him like _that_ anymore, anyways.

He sees her avert her gaze as she lets out a sigh, staying silent for a few seconds. “I don’t want ‘anyone’ to date me, though.” She eventually speaks again. “And I think I blew up my chances with the one person that matters.”

Jake frowns.

“What do you mean?”

“I wish I wasn’t with Teddy when you made your big speech about liking me. Your big _speeches_ , even,” she blurts it all out while staring deep at him.

Jake has to take a moment for the words to sink into his brain. And even after that, he remains speechless for a while.

Could he be wrong about her not having feelings for him anymore?! It seems like it, if he’s to believe her revelation. And it’s quite shocking, to be honest.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m saying. 6-drink Amy sucks,” Amy whines when he takes too long to answer.

“No no no. Don’t apologize.” Jake is quick to find his voice again, then. “6-drink Amy is just as amazing as the other Amys. And I like her – every version of you, to be honest – a lot. I think I never truly stopped, if I’m being honest.”

“You do?” Amy looks surprised as she watches him with her eyes shining bright in the dark of the room. She doesn’t sound desperate anymore – it’s quite the opposite, even. She seems _hopeful_.

Jake smiles softly at her. He replaces a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. As I said, anyone would be lucky to date you.”

“Even you?”

“Especially me.” His smile turns into a grin, an expression soon matched on Amy’s face. Then, to further emphasize his words, he leans towards her and presses a tender kiss on her lips. Their conversation might have completely sobered him up, he still worries all of this is just a drunken hallucination he’s having – the taste of her lips against his feel very real (and good), though.

Amy’s still smiling when he draws away, not an ounce of sadness noticeable in her expression anymore. She does let out a yawn despite how hard she tries to keep it in, and that’s how they agree they should talk more and figure things out what all of this means in the morning; when they’re awake and completely sober.

Jake acts as if he’s going to leave the bed then, but Amy stops him before he can take one foot out of the covers.

“Stay… please?” she pleads.

“Okay.” He doesn’t need much convincing to settle back against her, this time lying face-to-face. He wishes her goodnight with a kiss on the top of her head; it doesn’t take long for her to completely fall asleep after that, secured in his arms. He watches her for a while with an awestruck smile on his face that doesn’t want to go away – this is definitely not the turn he imagined this night taking, but he’s definitely thankful for it. He quickly closes his eyes and lets slumber take him in too, lulled by her even breathing against him.

(Sad, alone Amy never makes her comeback ever again after that night.)


	6. A Post-Breakup Hug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-2x09, Amy pines over Jake when he thinks she needs some comfort after her breakup with Teddy.

The night is still young but Amy already feels like going home.

She’s sitting at a table with some of the squad, her first beer almost empty in front of her. All around, her friends are chatting vividly but she barely listens to them. Her mind is lost elsewhere, in another dimension. Her eyes are stuck on the couple sitting together at the bar while they wait for their order to come and she can’t help but picture _herself_ there instead of the woman.

Jake is wearing a broad smile on his face. Sophia seems just as happy as he is, with her white teeth showing and brightening the whole dark room as she lets out a hearted laugh.

Amy daydreams about being in her place – imagining _she_ ’s the one laughing at her colleague’s joke. Imagining she’s his _girlfriend_.

She could have been, if she hadn’t missed her chance at the time, a voice inside her head painfully reminds her. If she hadn’t chosen Teddy over him when he opened up to her about his feelings, she could be the one sitting there with him right now. Teddy, _boring_ Teddy, who she broke up with a few days ago in the most chaotic ways.

_If you ask me, I think it’s because Amy liked you back._

He wasn’t wrong with his assumptions, she has to give him that. She was confused back then, but now it’s clearer than ever: she does like Jake.

But it’s too late for her to realize that. Because it’s someone else _he_ likes.

_So, how’d it go with Sophia?_

_Good. We made up. We’re still together._

Although Amy’s glad she didn’t wreak havoc in Jake’s relationship too – especially when he seems to really care about Sophia, a woman she _does_ like too –, his words hurt every time she thinks about them.

“Santiago?! _Amy!_ ” The feeling of a fist hitting her shoulder as she recognizes Rosa’s voice next to her calling her name suddenly brings her back to reality.

It takes her another few seconds of looking around to remember where she is exactly. When she does, though, she realizes everyone is staring at her. She blushes at the sight of all these pairs of eyes on her, ears and cheeks burning.

“What?” she asks, confused.

“For the third time, Boyle wants to know if you want another drink?” Rosa explains with a sigh.

“Oh.”

Amy doesn’t remember him asking. Not once. She was probably too lost in her thoughts to pay attention. She shoots a quick glance at the couple at the bar before answering anything – Jake’s now coming their way with two drinks in his hands and a dreamy grin on his face while Sophia’s heading to the bathroom.

Her heart drops again. She can’t deal with her feelings tonight.

“Actually, I was thinking about going home. I have to get up early tomorrow,” she lies. She stands up to emphasize her words.

She doesn’t have the time to take one step that Jake’s by their side, shooting everyone a bright smile as he puts down his drinks on the table. His expression changes when his gaze meets Amy’s – his brows furrow in a frown.

“Where’re you going?”

“Home,” she quickly answers. It’s hard to look at him. His eyes are shining in the dim light; he seems blissful and a little drunk, already.

“But it’s only 10 pm and you’re off tomorrow!” he complains with a pout. He looks disappointed she’s leaving. It makes Amy’s heart flip in her chest.

As she now stares at him, her mind takes her elsewhere again – to some parallel universe where she can kiss the pout out of his face and agree to stay before sitting with him and cuddle against his side on the booth.

“Hey, you okay?” The seriousness of his voice when he talks is what takes Amy back to the present this time. She must have stayed silent for too long.

“Yeah, sorry, I just–… got lost in my thoughts for a moment.” She forces a smile at him. Jake nods but still studies her for a while, piercing through her core in search of something. He doesn’t seem too convinced by her excuse.

“Come here.” He shockingly opens his arms to welcome her into an embrace as an answer. Amy's hesitant at first but eventually obliges.

Her whole body instantly melts when he clasps his hands around her back and holds her close to him, his scent taking over her.

She hopes he can’t feel her rushing heart beating against his chest.

Jake turns his head while hugging her, so that he can whisper to her ear. “I know we talked about it, but you sure you’re okay with how everything ended with Teddy? You seem a bit off since we came back from that prisoner transfer. So I just want to make sure you know that even if I joke about it, if you want me to stop and have a real conversation about it, I’m here for you, huh? I mean, it’s partially my fault it all went so wrong.”

All kinds of emotions take over Amy at that, and she finds herself tightening the embrace just for a second before she unwillingly draws away.

“Thanks, Jake.” She doesn’t have to force the small smile that forms on her lips this time. “I promise I’m fine.” And she believes she _will be_ – finally, she thinks as she’s overwhelmed with fondness for her colleague, it’s probably for the best nothing ever happened between the two of them. There would be too much to lose if it were not to work, Amy tries to hold onto that thought.

She couldn’t risk losing one of her best friends over a failed relationship.

“Say bye to Sophia for me, okay?”

“Okay.” He smiles back at her. “See you on Monday.”

Amy leaves after waving everyone goodbye. Before she can pass the door out of _Shaw’s_ bar, she hears Jake’s voice rising into the air behind her.

“Hey, you!” It’s joyful and she doesn’t have to see to picture the grin on his face and the glow in his eyes as Sophia probably just came back from the bathroom.

She lets out a sigh as she quickly gets out of the place, the thought and feeling of Jake’s arms securely wrapped around hers in a comforting embrace and showing her some support still vivid in her head.

 _Better as friends,_ she tries to convince herself.


	7. A Kiss Followed by a Hug When One Buries their Face into the Other's Neck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-3x23, Jake and Amy say their goodbyes before he has to go to Florida.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am really into angsty plots these days lmao sorry.
> 
> A HUGE thank you to @exploding-snapples on Tumblr for you help on this fic, who made it 10x better than what it originally was!

She doesn’t want to draw away.

She keeps her mouth on his, trying to imprint the feeling of his lips moving against hers permanently into her mind – she doesn’t know when she’ll get to kiss him again, after all. She’s determined to make the most of every last second, then. Only when they desperately need air do they part, but even then, she doesn’t let go of him.

Her forehead remains glued to his, her hands gently cupping his cheeks and her thumbs catching a few stray tears as she does so.

Amy doesn’t open her eyes just yet. She’s afraid that if she does, a fresh wave of tears that has been slowly building up since they left the bed and got ready for their goodbyes will start pouring down her face and never stop. She’s afraid of what she might see in  _his_  eyes, too. The pair. The fear.

The unmitigated love.

_I love you. So much._

_Aw, I love you so much too._

They were supposed to move in together. They weren’t supposed to be separated again, just mere hours after  _she_  came back.

Life’s unfair, to say the least.

“Ames…”

Jake’s voice is low when he speaks, barely above a whisper. It’s pleading, too, practically begging her to look at him. Her heart clenches in her chest when their eyes finally meet. Down at their feet, she catches sight of his bag full of the few personal belongings he was allowed to bring with him. He doesn’t even know where he’s being sent yet and she, on the other hand, will  _never_  know.

_For his safety,_  they said.  _And yours_ , they added – as if it would reassure her. But she knew that already. She didn’t need to be reassured.

She’s a cop; she knows the protocol by heart.

“They’ll be here any second now,” Jake says.

“I know.”

But instead of letting go of him like she should, Amy only moves her arms so they wrap tightly around his middle.

Jake doesn’t protest. On the contrary, he holds her close to his heart as she buries her face in the crook of his neck. Despite the situation, she manages to relax a little, if only for a second. She’s always felt safe, in his arms. She takes a deep breath. His hoodie smells like the now very familiar scent of his cheap detergent – it smells like him. It smells like  _home_. The warmth and familiarity of it all almost make her forget about the situation that they’re in.

_Almost._

A first tear rolls down her cheek, quickly followed by others, dampening his hoodie as they fall and she keeps her head pressed into his shoulder.

Jake hugs her tighter.

There are tons of things they could say, promises to make, declarations to offer, but they both choose to stay silent, wrapped up in each other and lost in their own minds. They don’t want to draw away. Maybe if they don’t move, Amy foolishly thinks, they could stay like this forever.

Jake won’t have to go somewhere where she can’t follow.

They won’t be separated  _again_.

(She knows it doesn’t work like this.)

It’s the ringtone of his phone, the painful signal that it’s time for him to go away – time for them to face the depressing truth –, that finally tears them apart.

There is no other choice. It would be far worse, far more dangerous if he stayed, and they both know it. They would be forced to live in constant fear until Figgis is caught.

That is, if they were lucky enough to live  _at all_.

Figgis isn’t some common, easy-to-catch criminal.

They stare at one another for a beat, frantically taking in each other’s features as much as they can, trying to memorize every detail. Amy doesn’t know how long will pass before she gets to see this face again, and that’s probably what hurts – and scares – her the most. She’s heard all types of stories about people being sent to witness protection. Some have a happy ending, and some don’t.

And some never come back, forced to live in their new fake life  _forever_.

As soon as the thought enters her mind, she quickly dismisses it. She can’t afford to think like this. Jake  _will_  come back, because  _she_  will make sure he does.

The ringtone chimes again before either of them have a chance to say anything.

“I really have to go, now,” Jake’s broken voice whispers, breaking the silence, before trailing off again. It’s clear in his eyes he doesn’t want to go; he doesn’t want to leave her either.

“I love you so,  _so_  much.” Amy presses one last kiss to his lips. She needs to make sure he remembers that while he’s away and she can’t tell him every time she wants. “And, Jake? I’ll be there when you come back. Whenever that is,” she promises as she stares deep into his eyes, so that he can see she  _means_  it.

Her words make him smile. It’s shy, a ghost of his usual grin, but it’s still as sincere as it always has been. “I love you so,  _so_  much too,” he repeats, echoing her words. It both warms up her heart and crushes it at the same time. She’ll miss hearing him say that to her for sure.

Actually, there’s a lot of things she’s gonna miss about him.

“We’ll see each other soon, I promise,” Amy swears – to reassure him, to reassure  _herself_  – before he closes the door behind him and separates them from one another. Once alone, she doesn’t move just yet, allowing for the tears to now fall freely down her cheeks without trying to restrain them. Jake’s apartment suddenly feels colder and too quiet, without him in it.

(To think it might have become  _theirs_ , if he hadn’t been forced to leave…)

(It  _will_  become theirs – unless they choose to move into hers, like she wishes they will, although at this point it doesn’t really matter  _where_  they live as long as it’s  _together_  –, Amy reprimands herself. She’ll fight with everything she has to bring Jake – and Holt – back home as soon as possible, just like she promised him.)


	8. An Accidental Hug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-6x12, Jake (and Amy) make some accidental encounter during their vacation at the waterpark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, does it surprise someone if I say @kamelea is to thank for this fic, lol? Because yeah, I might have been the one who came up with this prompts list, I still had no idea how to write an *accidental* hug. Then entered Kasia, like the savior she is :’)

Jake smiles to himself as he waits for Amy to come back.

He looks at the people around, those many kids running in excitement with their parents following behind, the groups of friends or the young couples, and he thinks he couldn’t get any happier than he is right now.

Just like it has for the past three days, the sun is shining high in the cloud-painted sky while he and Amy are on holidays at the waterpark. It’s still a little surreal for him sometimes, that a year has passed since they said their ‘I (absolutely) do’s in front of their precinct but yet here they are, celebrating their very first anniversary of married life.

And what a year it’s been already, filled with laughter and complicity and new experiences – as well as the occasional fight, too. Like the one they had a week ago. Or rather, as Jake said so himself, the  _devastatingly sad conversation_  they had about his future and his dream girl’s future. Thankfully, it all got resolved pretty quickly and now they’re back on the same page.

A new page.

The one where they will (hopefully) welcome a third member into their perfect little family in the upcoming years of their shared existence. And, if the thought of it freaked him out when Amy let him know of her want to have kids at some point, Jake is now more at peace with it. He’s still scared, of course – after all, it’s only been a few days since he first let the idea of him being a father form into his mind, but he’s also a little excited, too.

Brainstorming baby names with Amy was fun. And he’d lie if he’d say picturing a min-her (or a mini-him) running around their home didn’t make him swoon.

And, as he looks at the little family sitting across from him, with two girls talking vividly with their parents and the two of them answering their daughters with the biggest smiles on their faces, Jake can’t help but think his wife was right. Their own kid  _will_  want to go to the waterpark with him and when that happens, they’re all gonna have the best time together.

In the meantime, though, he’s already having the best time with only him and Amy enjoying their holidays here. He meant what he said – he does want to have kids with her, but would rather wait for a bit before they start trying so that he’s fully ready for it. He doesn’t want to do things wrong.

Still, he can’t retain the dreamy beam that comes curving up the corners of his mouth as his eyes remain on the cute family in front of him and he tries to picture his own there, someday. But it’s also a little scary – especially when a father passes by him while rocking his crying baby and trying to calm them down with soothing words against their tiny ear.

Jake can’t help but wonder if he’ll manage to do that, too.

_“Daddy!”_

He’s suddenly taken out of his reverie by a small voice rising into the air. He wouldn’t have paid it any attention, thinking some child was calling for their father like so many have around him for the past three days, if it hadn’t been for the little body that threw itself onto him accompanying the words. He can feel two cold hands wrapping around his middle and a head pressing on his back in a tight and loving hug.

His own body tenses as for a second, he wonders if his daydreaming hasn’t taken him as far as making him hallucinate things.

But then the child un-glues themselves from him; only to climb on the bench and sit next to him. This is when their gazes finally meet. Jake’s still a little startled from what just happened when he looks at who has mistaken him for their father: a cute little girl of no more than five, he guesses, with long blond hair and big blue eyes.

He can tell the exact moment realization hits her that Jake’s not who she thought he was from the way her big toothy smile suddenly turns into a pout and the blissfulness in her irises is soon replaced with utter panic. He watches, helpless, as her eyes fill with tears and she repeats, in a much sadder voice this time, “Daddy!” Then starts to cry.

At first Jake watches her without moving, as if paralyzed. He never had to take care of a child  _alone_  – especially not a child he doesn’t even know. He has no idea what to do, then. Quickly though, he goes back to his senses and starts looking around; searching for the poor lost kid’s  _real_  father and mother but also for  _Amy_.

_She_  would know what to do for sure. She would have the right words to calm her down.

Except she’s nowhere to be found and the girl’s cries keep rising louder into the air as she calls for her parents.

_This_  is why he’s not ready to have children of his own yet. He would lose it without his wife by his side to help him take care of them. And although he has a lot to learn about parenting and babies, he does know that you can’t always rely on your partner to take care of them. There will be times he will be alone, like he is right now.

And he definitely isn’t ready for it yet.

Jake takes a deep breath, trying to regain some composure. Now’s not the time to freak out about his own future. He needs to help this little girl. He shoots another look in her direction, and suddenly an idea pops into his head. This is a case, he tells himself – the case of the missing parents. And  _this_  is something he knows how to deal with. He’s pretty good at solving cases, even.

“Hey, buddy.” He gently, very carefully pats the child’s shoulder to make her look up. He offers her a reassuring smile when she does so and their eyes meet again. “It’s okay, I’m gonna help you find your real daddy, okay? I’m sure he’s very close.” He tries to speak in as soft a voice as he can, and it seems to work, because the girl nods through her tears. He can tell he has her full attention.

Jake smiles, a little proud of himself for his (small) achievement so far, before he focuses on his task again.

“I’m Jake. What’s your name?” he asks.

The kid hesitates for a moment before she eventually whispers between two sniffs, “Amy.”

Jake’s face instantly lights up at the coincidence.

“Really?” His smile turns into a grin. “That’s a lovely name. Y’know, my wife is called Amy too, and she’s  _awesome_.” He can’t help but hype up the love of his life even when she’s not here to hear it. “And I’m sure you are too!” he enthusiastically exclaims. He hopes his new, more relaxed attitude will lift up the little girl’s mood as well and make her feel more at ease around him if he is too.

It’ll be easier to help her find her parents if she first stops crying.

Plus, he might not know her, but seeing a sad child still breaks his heart a little. Especially when he knows what it’s like, to be lost like this – how  _scary_  it can be, when you’re young and find yourself suddenly alone among strangers. He remembers very well this one time his father took him out to some theme park on one of these yearly afternoons he’d care to spend with him.

The dream soon turned into a nightmare when Roger found (another) woman to hit on and completely neglected his son. Jake, like the distracted boy he was, got bored and decided to go play on his own. When he wanted to come back to his father, though, he couldn’t remember the way to where he last saw him.

It took Roger almost two hours to notice his child’s absence and find him. Two hours Jake spent crying and wondering if he’d ever see his home and parents again, thinking he’d been abandoned again.

(Two hours during which he blamed himself for not being able to make his father care enough to stay.)

Jake quickly chases the thought away. This is not the time to dwell into his own sad childhood. He’s sure this girl’s father isn’t like his own was, and that he’s just as stressed out as the child is about having lost sight of her in such a crowded place. This is why he needs to help her find him and reunite this little family.

“Okay Amy, do you remember where you last saw your mom and dad?” He smiles at the little girl by his side, putting his full attention on her only and ready to put his detective skills at work to crack this particular case.

* * *

Amy frowns as she goes back to her husband. When she approaches him, she finds him in a conversation with some little girl she’s never seen before. Both of them are grinning widely and as she gets closer, she can hear small giggles escaping the child’s mouth. A smile of her own comes curving up the corners of her lips and her heart fills with adoration as she watches Jake interact with her.

_I’ve been thinking. I do want to have kids – with you_ , his words from the previous week rush back to Amy’s mind. Her smile grows wider at the thought.

She knows he’s scared of being a father. They talked about it in more depth once they came home from their ‘casecation’ (more like a ‘casemare,’ in the end – although it hopefully got a nice closure) and she understands his fears. She wishes he could see himself the way she does, though. Because she  _knows_  he will be an amazing dad, whenever he feels ready to extend their little family.

Even more so now that she gets to see the caring look he gives to this little girl, who’s a complete stranger. He’s gonna do just fine with their own child(ren).

No,  _great_ , even.

“Hi, babe.” When she finally reaches them, Amy makes her presence known by putting a hand on her husband’s shoulder. He immediately turns his attention towards her with a fond beam covering his face. His eyes quickly focus back on the kid, though, and Amy follows his gaze. She’s is staring at her with big blue eyes studying her figure in slight fear.

She bends down to meet her height. “Hey, you,” she says softly, hoping it’ll help her see that she means no harm.

Still, Amy can see her scoot closer towards Jake’s side, her small hand grabbing the hem of his shirt as she shoots him a look of panic.

He brings his own hand to her arm and gives it a gentle stroke.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs to the girl’s ear before bringing his attention back on Amy. “Ames, this is Amy,” he does the introductions with a grin still lighting up his features. “She’s mistaken me for her father and now, I’m helping her find her parents. Right, Amy?” He raises his eyebrow knowingly while the kid nods in return. In her chest, Amy’s heart melts at the sight of the love of her life bonding with the child. “And Amy, this is my wife,” Jake goes on. “She’s the best sergeant ever, and I’m sure she’ll be happy to help us find your parents.”

“Of course,” Amy doesn’t need to think to answer.

She offers the little girl a soft smile, who simply studies her in silence for a few seconds. Then, she turns to Jake.

“Is this awesome Amy?” she asks in a whisper, but Amy can still hear it.

Jake lets out a small chuckle as he sets his eyes on his wife. He’s smiling at her lovingly when he answers the child. “Yes, it is.”

It makes Amy swoon. She doesn’t know what he told the girl but it must have been only good words because this confirmation is all it takes for her attitude to change towards her. She suddenly seems more relaxed and trusting.

Amy takes it as her cue to talk. “What do you say we take you to the entrance of the park and make an announcement for your parents to come and pick you up there, uh?” she tells her little homonym without much thinking while shooting a knowing glance at her husband. He grins in return while the girl nods shyly.

“See? I told you she’s the best!” he enthusiastically exclaims before standing up, wasting no time to follow her offer. 

Amy shakes her head but inside, she can feel like she’s burning with love and adoration for this amazing man.

If he already hypes her up in front of a small stranger… what will it be then, when he talks about her to their  _own_  child?!

(She can’t wait to find out.)

As soon as little Amy is up and ready to go too, her hand comes finding Jake’s for him to hold as they walk towards the waterpark’s entrance. His wife can see his body tense for a moment at the surprise gesture before he tightens his own grip on her. She catches the soft smile that soon forms on his face when he looks down at his and the little girl’s intertwined fingers and she can feel her own lips turn into a similar beam.

Amy wasn’t there to actually see it, but there’s no denying he somehow managed to make the girl feel at ease by his side, when she must have been terrified after she realized he wasn’t her father like she apparently first thought he was. Which doesn’t surprise her at all –  _he_  is awesome and should give himself more credit about his abilities to take care of a child.

He’s a lot more competent than he believes.

The waterpark is rather big, and it takes the three of them a dozen of minutes to reach the entrance – a time she and Jake spend talking with the child and asking her about her vacation here with her parents to keep her mind occupied. Actually, the kid and Jake are doing most of the conversation, gushing about their favorite rides and sharing their experience over the ‘scary’ ones.

Their walk is filled with smiles and bursts of laughter while Amy carefully listens to the love of his life and his new friend. She can feel the unmitigated love pouring through her veins as she watches the pair talking together. Her heart misses a beat every time Jake stops to shoot her a quick glance, his eyes full of bliss.

He’s absolutely  _nailing_  this.

Eventually they reach the entrance and let the staff there know about the little girl who lost her parents. A staff member makes an announcement through speakers that cover the full park then lets Amy and Jake know they got it from here; they can go back to their own enjoyment of the facilities. Amy can see Jake’s reluctant to leave the child’s side just yet, though.

“Maybe we should–… Maybe we should stay until her parents arrive. Just in case,” he says while one of his hands come scratching at the back of his head in a nervous tic.

“Sure.” Amy smiles. She wraps an arm around his waist while his own finds its way around her shoulder. She lets her head fall in the crook of his neck and lets out a satisfied sigh. A soothing silence falls upon them as they watch the girl talking with the staff member while they wait for her family to pick her up.

“She was lucky it’s you she got mistaken with her father.” Amy suddenly breaks the quietness, looking up to meet Jake’s eyes.

“Really?” he seems a little hesitant.

“Really.” She nods with a sincere smile.

He puts his attention towards the child for a beat, as if lost in some thoughts, before bringing it back to Amy. His smile is full of fondness when he meets her gaze and talks again.

“Well, maybe I’m not so bad at it as I thought I would be,” Jake muses. She can’t possibly argue with that.

Her smile turns into a full grin as she turns in his embrace to fully face him as she speaks. “Babe, you’re gonna be an amazing father. Our kids will be so lucky to have you, too.” She can see the look in his eyes soften as he watches her. His mouth opens to say something but they’re cut in their conversation by a small voice rising into the air with excitement just a few feet away from them.

“Mommy! Daddy!”

They look where the sound came from just in time to see little Amy rush into her parents’ arms and throw herself into their warm embrace. Amy can feel her heart melt at the sight of the little family reuniting; her entire being fills with joy for her. She can also feel Jake’s hold on her tighten as he hugs her close too.

When the girl eventually draws away, she points in her and Jake’s direction. She tells her parents something but Amy can’t hear what it is – until the three of them approach them. The adults shake their hands as they thank her and Jake for bringing their baby back safe and sound. They mainly talk to Jake as little Amy apparently told them how good he was to her when he first found her.

He’s uncharacteristically shy, almost bashful even when he humbly mumbles that  _it’s nothing, I was just doing my job_. Amy finds it adorable.

After a few words are exchanged between the four adults, the small family leaves to go on with their day. Before she goes, little Amy turns around to wave at Jake and Amy. “Bye Jake and awesome Amy!” she shoots happily, to which they both answer with bright smiles and waves of their own.

Some new silence falls upon the married couple while they watch their new friend leave with both her hands securely intertwined with her parents’. When they finally exchange a look, the same glow is shining in both their eyes as the same thought is going through their minds.

“Someday?” Jake asks knowingly as he shoots one last glance at the family who’s slowly disappearing from their sight. He doesn’t need to say more for Amy to understand what he means with this single word.

_Someday, it’ll be their turn._

_Someday, they’ll have a child of their own._

Her heart is warm in her chest when she brings a hand to his cheek and strokes gently with her thumb. “Someday,” she agrees with a smile before she brings him in for a tender kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always really appreciated :3 You can find me on Tumblr @b99peraltiago if you want too!


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